Working Parents - how do you handle summers?
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Anonymous
Most my friends who do this are SAHMs |
Anonymous
Then why are most moms popping champagne the first day of school? Listen, the reality is after one or two weeks. People are sick of their kids. I personally love kids. I really do. I love other peoples kids. I love my kids. I love teaching other peoples kids, but that’s not the norm. |
Anonymous
| For those of you who leave work early in the summer, don't you have meetings? I have too many meetings to do that. At this point my kids do go to sleep away camp, when they were younger we did full day camps plus an after school/camp sitter from 4-6. |
Anonymous
I block my calendar off from 4-6 on the days I need to be home after activities or for swim meets. I don’t schedule my staff for meetings at the last minute or in the evenings if I can help it. I’ve told them all not to give me things at night. Planning, scheduling, discipline. All it takes. If higher ups need me at the last second, I have a phone and I make it work. |
Anonymous
Yes. I did. I have a job that doesn't allow me to WFH/hybrid, but I have a lovely boss who I have worked for for 20 years and is a mom herself. But I did ask for flexibility over the summer with coming in later/leaving earlier (typically work 7:30a-4p.) On days I had to drop off. I didn't get in till 9ish and then I would work till 5ish and then on days I had to pick up, I had to leave at 3:30. I made up work on the weekend. I would split with DH (I rarely had to do both drop off and pick up on the same day.) The last few years DD went to camp with her BFF so we carpooled with her family which was helpful. We always had to do all day camps (with before/after care.) Thankfully, our swim team practices in the evening so they could participate. I was soooooooo happy when we didn't have to deal with camp any longer...but ages 13y/14y where challenging (they felt they were too old for camp (even teen camps) - but staying home all day alone wasn't good for their mental health.) |
Anonymous
I’m a fed. Core hours are 9-2:30. And most meetings don’t start until 10. Occasionally I have to have lunch time meetings, which is annoying, but it’s rare for anything to go past 2:30/3. If we do have a long meeting or training it is usually on the calendar well in advance so I can plan around it with my DH. No, I’m not a super high up manager or SES level career fed. I’m a regular GS-14 attorney. But I’ll keep the flexibility at this point. My DH does tend to have later afternoon meetings, which is why he handles mornings so I can start early and be done in time for school/camp ending. |
Anonymous
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Post-COVID I WFH with a lot of flexibility due to an office transition to doing a lot of things by zoom; about 1 week a month I have a lot of in-person meetings that may run late, but the rest of the time I have more flexibility re: timing. So for most of the summer we do full-day camps with aftercare, and then I’ll pick a few weeks when I know i will have flexibility, and let my child (now 10 years old) do a camp that doesn’t have aftercare; I’ll pick her up then do more work in the afternoon/evening. Half day camps are not an option for us.
As she gets older, there are fewer options for camps that interest her (unfortunately she’s not into any sports), so I’ not sure what we’ll do to address that. |
Anonymous
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Thanks, all. This is really helpful.
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Anonymous
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I'm a single mom and here are my options:
Older kid is 17 and could come from his father's house and watch his brother. I could get a teenager or two from the old country to come and stay for summer. I actually have best friend and two family members come to visit soon. They don't need a job and I don't really need help, but they could easily do it. I can loan them out if you are in DC. All are grown women with years of driving experience. I have three family member who are between jobs and live nearby. There's plenty of work in my own industry, but not in theirs seems like it. They already watch the kid on weekends. At my own low-paid flexible job I have workers who would easily help out for $20 an hour. I can also bring the kid to work. The easiest option - I simply take another vacation so I don't have to worry about care. I make $20k a year, so it's not like I can get any poorer. Losing a job because of childcare and not getting another one is not likely. Most business that pay nothing are hiring. |
Anonymous
8 weeks of zero contact vs home 24/7 or the nightmare of this thread is the difference |
Anonymous
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Our kid is old enough to ride their bike to swim practice in the morning and stay at the park and play tennis or whatever. They come home for lunch if they want, and then go back in the afternoon or hang out at home. DH and I work at home on opposite days. We are extremely fortunate that we have a local pool association that most of their friends belong to and that’s what summer looks like.
When younger, the pool association also had all day camp available. We traded days to cart the kids to and from the park with other parents. I wish all neighborhoods had this kind of set up. It’s been amazing. |
Anonymous
Tell me you're a SAHP without telling me you're a SAHP. |
Anonymous
Nope. There were tons of examples of how people manage. Eight weeks of summer campus, cultural not a solution to daycare. |
Anonymous
Must be a homeschooler… oh wait. |
Anonymous
This my my family. My spouse is a GS-14 with 2 in-person days, one mandated to be Tuesday. I WFH 100% as a department lead for back office (Finance / HR / IT) at a government contractor. I control my schedule. We carpool with another family for camps, so we have 5 spots to fill weekly. Usually my husband starts 30 min late 2 days a week and I schedule a break 4-4:45pm 3 days a week. When I have my early pick-up day, I start work at 7:30am. When my husband starts late, he comes home later. We both work 30-60 min in the evening most days to schedule meetings, reply to emails, and get set up for the next day. We often both take a break to walk to pick up our kids together during the school year and you will see us both at Monday evening swim meets in the summer because we prioritize that. I can’t remember the last time I took an hour for lunch unless it was a business meeting at a restaurant. I heat up a can of soup or some leftovers and eat at my desk while in meetings 95% of the time so that I have time to get kids to those 5pm practices. I also recognize I have more flexibility than many people and I always offer to carpool or help out neighbors if there is space in the car and their kids are going the same place as mine. |